Wednesday, August 13, 2014

A Brief History About Tea

The history about teais one that is actually exciting and interesting for both those who enjoy tea and those who do not. It gives us great information about the world we live in.

Tea was first discovered in China and has made its way across the globe with great popularity, as it holds the position of second most consumed beverage in the world, behind water and before coffee. As we know, just about every country drinks it so some extent and it has tremendous health benefits.

The history
Legend has it that tea was discovered in China during the year of 2737 BC by the Chinese Emperor at the time. For a few hundred years, people consumed the beverage due to its medicinal abilities. When the Zhou Dynasty reigned, tea was considered to be almost sacred since it was used as a religious offering.

When the Han Dynasty came into power between the years of 202 BC to 220 AD, tea plants had become rather limited and could only be afforded by royalty and the rich, both for health and flavor.

Thanks to the Tang Dynasty, tea went from a drink for the rich to a common drink that everyone could afford and enjoy; the government at the time encouraged planting of tea plants and sharing the crop with everyone. Also, during this time, tea was shared with Japan via Japanese priests in China. The priests drank the tea to remain awake and meditated, thus, it was associated with Zen Buddhism. From this, Buddhists created the Japanese Tea Ceremony. The Japanese enjoyed tea so much that they also started planting tea plants.

During the 1600s, tea arrived in England and was due to imports of the East India Company when Charles II marrying Catherine of Braganza, a Portuguese princess. Tea became a drink of the royals. The aristocrats formed "afternoon tea" so they could enjoy time together for tea. Tea became rather expensive so smuggling began so the poorer residents could afford tea as well.